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MTS (San Diego Trolley)
What's the San Diego Trolley!? The San Diego Trolley (reporting mark SDTI) is a light rail system operating in the metropolitan area of San Diego. It is known colloquially as "The Trolley". The Trolley's operator, San Diego Trolley, Inc. (SDTI), is a subsidiary of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). The Trolley began service on July 26, 1981, making it the oldest of the "second-generation" light rail systems in the United States. The entire Trolley network serves 53 stations, and comprises 53.5 miles (86.1 km) of route, and three primary lines named the Blue Line, the Orange Line, and the Green Line, as well as a supplementary heritage streetcar downtown circulator known as the Silver Line that operates on select weekdays, weekends and holidays. In Q4 2014, the Trolley was the 5th most-ridden light rail system in the United States, with an average of 119,800 riders per weekday. The San Diego Trolley is operated by MTS, which is one of the oldest transit systems in Southern California dating back to the 1880s. Although its operating names have changed over the years, the two modes of transportation, buses and trolleys, have remained consistent over most of the past 125 years. San Diego Trolley initially used the same German-built Siemens–Duewag U2 vehicles as the Edmonton Light Rail Transit system in Edmonton and the C-Train in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and the Frankfurt U-Bahn in Frankfurt, Germany. (Which are now Retired) The fleet has since been expanded to include Siemens SD-100 vehicles, and most recently Siemens S70 vehicles Trolley Line History Although electric rail service in San Diego traces its roots back to 1891 when John D. Spreckels incorporated the San Diego Electric Railway,8 today's operating company, San Diego Trolley Incorporated (SDTI), was not founded until 19808 when the Metropolitan Transit Development Board (now operating as MTS) began planning a light-rail service along the Main Line of the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway (SD&AE Railway), which had been purchased by MTDB from Southern Pacific Railroad in 1979.8 Service began on July 19, 1981, with revenue collection beginning on July 26, 1981.8 14 trains operated on a single line between Centre City or Downtown San Diego and San Ysidro, with stops in the cities of San Diego, National City, and Chula Vista.9 On March 23, 1986, SDTI opened an extension east from Centre City San Diego to Euclid Avenue, along the La Mesa Branch of the SD&AE Railway – this new second line of the Trolley was then called the East Line.89 Service was extended along the same line to Spring Street on May 12, 19898 serving Lemon Grove, and then to La Mesa and on to El Cajon on June 23, 1989.8 Service from El Cajon to Santee, which does not operate along the old SD&AE right-of-way, began on August 26, 1995.89 The "Bayside" extension of the Trolley in Centre City San Diego opened on June 30, 1990.10 The first phase of the Old Town extension, from C Street to Little Italy in Centre City San Diego, opened on July 2, 1992.10 The second phase of that extension, running from Little Italy to Old Town, opened on June 16, 1996.910 The "Mission Valley West" SDTI extension from Old Town to Mission San Diego commenced service on November 23, 1997910 – it was at this time that the former South Line and East Line of the system were renamed the Blue Line and the Orange Line, respectively.810 The "Mission Valley East" extension from Mission San Diego to La Mesa began operating on July 10, 2005,10 with the inauguration of the third line of the San Diego Trolley system, the Green Line. Fleet Former Fleet Services Future Projects - Current projects is connecting the UCSD Blue Line back to Oldtown and up to UCSD to connect with the Amtrak and Coaster - A related project to these is the plan to build an Airport Intermodal Transit Center on the northeast side of Lindbergh Field by 2035, which would include direct Trolley service access (from the Green Line, and from the Blue Line as well after the completion of the Mid-Coast Transit project) to San Diego International Airport. (Note: This is unrelated to the separate proposal to extend the Orange Line along Harbor Drive to the terminals on the south side of Lindbergh Field.) Other relatable sources: - https://aviationrailfanning.fandom.com/wiki/San_Diego_COASTER